Princesses of Heart
by bscds20
Summary: Brilly has been sent by the King to locate and protect the 7 Princesses of Heart. Along the way she meets very powerful allies, destructive enemies, and a love interest or two. Will she succeed with the help of her friends, or will the powers of the heartless overpower her?
1. Chapter 1

B: ok everyone so after been through several writes and rewrites, I have decided to update my first chapter. A huge Thank You to Angel Little for her revisions and comments. They are really helping my characters grow. I'll be working on the other chapters so keep an eye out.

Chapter 1

"You must protect the Princesses of Heart at all costs. If you fail, the heartless will devour every world with nothing to stop them. The King can explain more than I can, but you must hurry!"  
Elpha's words seemed to ring continually in Brilly's mind as she walked towards the Audience chamber. _Maybe I shouldn't do this_, she thought, _maybe she has the wrong girl. I don't think I'm ready for this yet_. _I haven't even mastered my apprenticeship with her yet. I know nothing outside the castle._

She reached to the door and tapped it against her better judgment. It sounded like firecracker against the stillness of the castle. "Come in." a shrill voice, almost like a mouse's squeak, responded. She took a deep breath and opened the door.  
Brilly gasped as she entered the magnificent hall. It looked like it was a hall for a giant. She guessed it was about thirty feet high. The marble floors and walls sparkled with the sunlight she let in. A plush velvet carpet led straight to the throne where the King and Queen sat waiting expectantly.  
She hurried up to them and curtsied, her long, red, curly hair flowing off her shoulders. "You sent for me, your Majesty?" she asked, her voice quivering slightly.

King Mickey looked at her amazed. "Are you Brilly from the world Kingdom Over Heaven?"  
"I am sir, is there anything wrong?" Brilly asked, standing up, fear overcoming her.  
"No, just that I didn't think Elpha would send a child,"  
Brilly looked at her feet. 16 years old and at 5'5", she knew she was young and naïve about the worlds. Back home, people called the most beautiful person in all Kingdom Over Heaven, with her blue eyes, long legs and slowly growing figure. She knew she wasn't, but if people complimented her wherever she went, why would she care what people think? _Maybe Elpha was right; maybe I am as conceited as Alinda.  
_ "It doesn't matter now; we have no more time to get someone else. All the worlds are in grave danger. A sorceress named Maleficent is slowly gaining control of the heartless and is about to attempt to unlock the keyhole of Hollow Bastion, a powerful world that, if taken over by the heartless, could very well give Maleficent enough power to control all worlds." King Mickey told her as calmly as if they were over for tea. She jerked her head up and stared at him, terror in her eyes. She didn't realize the Heartless had grown that strong. She knew that when left unchallenged, the Heartless were menaces, to say the least. They came in many forms and were quite powerful, but they had always been under control back home due to Elpha's magic. Now she knew what little Elpha had known. "Please, tell me what I must do."  
"You must find the seven princesses of heart and protect them for they are the key to unlocking the keyhole. Their names are Kairi, Bel-"

"THE HEARTLESS!" screamed Queen Minnie, pointing towards the door. Brilly turned around quickly. What seemed like a dark, moving fog was swirling inside the hall. As the heartless got closer, she saw they were small dark creatures, with bright yellow eyes and feeler-like antennae poking out the top of their heads.  
"Here, take these! You need to fight them off and get back to your ship!" the King yelled as he handed her a pair of elbow length gloves. As soon as she put them on, they transformed into arm blades, sharpened and ready for battle. "They're called Emerald Shells, made to fight off heartless. Don't lose them, they allow you to connect to with an ambassador from every world. Now go and hurry!" he ran towards the swarm of heartless with a golden key in his hand.

She studied the blades getting used to their weight and ran towards the exit, but the swarm of Heartless prevented her from getting through. _Alright, you want a fight? You've got one!_ She ran towards the mob, using her knowledge of fencing to ward off the heartless. As she slashed a Heartless to wisps, another one took its place. _ Wait, I have magic on my side, why am I fighting this endless mass of Heartless?_ Mentally smacking herself, Brilly summoned her energy and created a lightning bolt that destroyed a group of Heartless, opening a path to the entrance of the castle. She turned to see the Queen looking for a way out.  
"Over here your Majesty!" Called Brilly. As soon as the Queen was out of the Audience Chamber, Brilly closed the doors and sealed them shut. "If you'll excuse me your Majesty, I must get back to the Gummi ship."

"Of course, Brilly. May your mission be fruitful and a safe journey to you."

Brilly ran out to the hedge cut like a castle and stopped to take a breath. She heard the heartless catching up and ran towards the drawbridge of the castle. She stopped and looked more closely at the door. There was a letter with the king's symbol on it. She grabbed it and ran inside to the gummi hanger. She ran down the steps and skidded to a halt in front of Chip and Dale, the castle's chipmunk engineers. "What's wrong?" they asked in unison.

"Heartless…storming the castle," she said trying to catch her breath, "Ran as fast as I could to get back to the ship…" She heard a crash behind her, but before she turned around, something collided with her head and she hit the floor hard with a loud crack. The last thing she remembered was a swarm of heartless, and a horse's hoof clopping into place before her eyes. Then she plunged into darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

_Brilly was falling. She wasn't sure for how long, but she could faintly see the ground, a circular stained glass platform. As it grew closer, she saw a picture of three people. The biggest one, in the middle of the picture, was of her in a flowing tricolored gown. The second figure was of a boy to the left of her, in a formal suit holding a lily in his hand. The third was a horse, standing on two feet and clothed in overalls, menacingly wielding a mallet. The image grew as she fell closer and closer. _I'm gonna crash!_ She thought. Yet, as she reached the ground, her body slowed and landed lightly on the glass. She summoned her arm blades and kept her eyes out, looking for attackers but there was no one around. _Where am I?_ She wondered as she walked across the mural. _And why is my picture on this glass mural?_ She continued walking around wondering where to go when she heard steps behind her. Defensively raising her arms, she quickly turned around. In front of her stood a boy with spiky silver hair and deep blue eyes. He looked through her, like she was a ghost. _ "Who are you?" _She asked, but as she spoke, the floor beneath her shattered, plunging her into darkness._

"She's been out for some time. You don't think…?"

"No of course not. See, she's coming to now." Brilly opened her eyes and groggily sat up. Three kind small faces stared back at her. She rubbed her eyes and looked around, wondering where she was. She saw a flash of red as a shining spot of light, no bigger than the size of a beetle, flitting in front of her face. Squinting to see past the light, she noticed that there were three, and that they were tiny women, each with their own glowing color. "That was a close one, dear." Said the red woman. "I'm Flora. This is Merrywether, and Fauna. We are the three good fairies in our world. You have quite a bump on your head there, dear. Luckily, the king told us to come assist you on your journey and we fixed you up as best as we could."

Brilly's head pounded in her skull and she put a hand to her temple, in hopes that it would stop. "Umm…I don't mean to be rude but I can't see you very well." She saw swirls of sparkling fairy dust and three middle-aged fairies popped up next to her. Flora had a plump figure and wore a red medieval dress with short pumps and a dunce-like sort of hat. Looking at the others, they seemed to have the exact same clothes except Merrywether had a slightly plumper figure with blue clothes and Fauna was slightly thinner with an emerald green that reminded Brilly of the capital city of her world. "What happened?" Brilly asked, her head throbbing.

"The castle was attacked." Brilly closed her eyes as her memories started flowing back to her. Elpha, King Mickey, Princesses, Heartless, a key…and a boy?

"What- What do you know about this mission?" She asked, rubbing her head, the throbbing centralizing in the back of her eyes.

"Oh everything, dear. The King filled us with the basic information, that we are looking for princesses to prevent Maleficent." Merrywether stated.

"What about their names? Did he tell you who we're looking for?" Brilly questioned, hoping that the king told them the princesses' names.

"No, we were told that you would know the names. Don't you know the names?" Flora asked.

The throbbing in her head still wasn't subsiding but she thought deeply, even if it hurt. "…I remember he said…Kairi and he started to say a name, bel— but that's all he was able to tell me when the Heartless attacked us. So, we have a base to at least start with. It just feels like we're flying without a map."

"Well, we won't be completely at a loss, dear. We three have the ability to sense strong powers, both evil and good. We should be able to sense a strong heart within a world, which can be rare in certain worlds." Explained Flora, "In fact, we have set the Gummi ship to land at a world called Destiny Islands."

"We think there is a princess there." Fauna said in a singsong voice, "Merrywether believes she was sent there to find a keyblade master, but we're not sure. All we know is that someone is there with immense power and a strong heart."

"What is a keyblade?" Brilly questioned. _ Don't concentrate on the throbbing, focus on the conversation and the throbbing will disappear._

"The keyblade is a weapon that takes the shape of a key. It has the ability to open locks, seal items, and destroy enemies." Flora explained, conjuring up a picture of a long silver key, teeth in the shape of a crown, and a yellow handle. A small keychain dangled from the handle.

_This sounds stupid. Why would someone run around carrying a giant-…wait a minute, King Mickey had a giant key!_

Brilly got up and went to the window. "Does the King carry a keyblade?" She looked out and saw nothing but vast space and distant stars, teasing her with the secrets they held.

"Yes, he has a golden keyblade. One he has had for many years." Merrywether said, perplexed about her lack of knowledge.

Brilly turned from the window of the gummi ship and looked at the three. She felt a sense of calm around them, something she didn't notice before, but now that she had, she relaxed a little. The throbbing in her head almost seemed to fade, at least enough she didn't feel the need to hold her head anymore.

"So you guys are here to help me on this journey?"

"Of course, dear. We'll help as much as we can." Exclaimed Merrywether.

"I just hope I can fulfill my destiny wherever it takes me. Before I do anything, I'll need to find a clothes shop so I can get more uh, suitable clothes." She sighed. It had taken her months with Alinda to make her dress. _"Fit for a queen!" Alinda had said._ Layers upon layers of soft light blue silk made up the skirts of the dress. The bodice was of a darker blue with a snowflake adorning the front. Puffs at the shoulder with lengths of fabric hugging her arms. Hidden in the side of her dress was a small pocket that only she knew about. Now it lay in tatters, torn from the Heartless claws in battle. The snowflake broken in several places. Her eyes teared up for a second, but she blinked them away. _No use crying over spilled milk, Brilly, you can fix it when you journey back home._

"Don't worry about that. We'll give you new clothes." Flora turned to the other two fairies, "Ready girls? On three then. One, two, THREE!" Brilly tensed up as she felt three blasts of air hit her and her eyes closed instinctively. When she opened them, she looked down. She was wearing a blue vest that had a V-neck and ended just above the belly button. Her Emerald Shells turned an Emerald green that sparkled with many gems. Looking more closely, she noticed there was a gold etching in them that formed a vine between the rainbow of gems that she hadn't noticed in the chaos before. Her cargo pants had pockets galore and plenty of loopholes for easy access during battle. To top it all off, black sneakers with blue laces to ensure quick speed.

"These clothes will aid you on your journey, though, we're not sure how yet."

Brilly sat down puzzled, "How can you not know how these clothes will help me when you made them?"

"Well, you see," Flora began, "magic can be unpredictable in each world."

"Let's just get rid of this old thing, shall we?" Fauna said, the dress disappearing with a flick of her wand.

"Wait that's my-"Brilly said as she lunged forward, just barely missing the dress.

"Oh I'm sorry dear, did you still want that?" Fauna looked guiltily at Brilly, "I should have asked first."

"It was an important dress to me, tattered and torn as it was, I wanted it still. Where did it go?"

Fauna looked at Brilly with sadness in her eyes, "Our magic sends items back to their original world, but because each world is different, we never know where it will end up."

Brilly's eyes filled with hope. _Maybe it will end up with Elpha or Alinda. Then again I hope not… I don't want them to think me dead…_

Merrywether walked over to the window, "Flora, I think we're here!" she exclaimed, trying to change the subject.

Brilly peered out the window and saw a world of palm trees, tropical plants and endless blue sky was awaiting them. "It looks like paradise!" Brilly said, "Let's go!" she started packing what little she brought with her, but then stopped and looked back at the three. "Umm how are we supposed to get down there? There's no dock or anything to land on."

"They can't do everything for you. You have to learn to do thing yourself." A hoarse voice answered from the cockpit. A horse dressed in faded blue overalls stepped through the door. He had a messenger boy hat and a horse collar around his neck with a green bowtie adorning it. "I know you…I-I've seen you before." _Where have I seen him? I must have hit my head harder than I even thought. "_Who are you?" Brilly asked, wary of the giant mallet in his hand.

"I'm Horace. I'm the one that fought the Heartless off you and dragged you into the ship. The King sent me to accompany you on your journey and assist you with the search for princesses."

His attitude seem nice enough but there was this undertone that felt like contempt, or annoyance. _Disdain? No, I don't think that's it…but there is definitely something there. Maybe it's because he has to take orders from me._

"So you're like a sidekick right?" Brilly asked, scratching her head.

Horace looked at her with a look of contempt. "No, I'm equal to you, and I'll help you, but I am not a sidekick. I'm your partner." He replied curtly.

_Oh geez, what an attitude._

"Okay… so how do YOU propose we get down there?" Brilly retorted. He walked over to her and looked her in the eyes.

"YOU have to concentrate with your entire mind on finding a portal down there."

"Why me? Why can't you do it?" She said, her anger churning deep in the pit of her stomach. _Who does he think he is?_

"Someone has to teach you to fend for yourself." He snorted.

"Ugh ok." _I've only known him for five minutes and he's already annoying me._ Turning back to the fairies, "Is there anything else I need to do?" The three fairies shook their heads. "No silly words to mumble or any waving my hands over a book?"

"No, just concentrate on opening the portal." Horace said exasperated.

Brilly closed her eyes, frustrated at her new "companion" and concentrated hard on finding a way to transport on the island. At her feet suddenly swirled a glowing green circle, mist swirling around the edge of the portal.

"That's a transportation device called a 'Save Point'. Very few people can conjure them. In fact, I can only think of one other person who can conjure them." Flora exclaimed. "It's the easiest form of transport down to a world because all you do is step inside the circle and your there. It's like a direct link."

"Yea it's good, I guess…" Horace interjected, unimpressed by her magic.

_Well I don't see you conjuring up a Save Point, or anything… _Brilly thought to herself, staring him down.

"Is it safe?" Brilly said, worried about horror stories she had heard of people leaving behind body part when they attempted to transport themselves. Fauna flew over to her and put her hands on Brilly's shoulders, comforting her. "Of course, dear, it is very safe. The portal is emitting white and green light, a sign that its path is true. The portals you have to worry about are portals emitting black light. They are the dangerous paths.

"Okay," Turning to Horace, Brilly asked, "Aren't you coming too?"

"Yup, get your rucksack and let's go." Horace walked past her and headed for the circle. As he stepped inside a green light shined all around him, and seemed to invigorate him.

Brilly grabbed her rucksack and stepped through the circle with Horace at her side and blinding green light surrounded them until they could not see past the light and had to shield their eyes. When they were able to see again, a crystal clear blue sky greeted them, along with the sharp smell of salt air and the sound of waves crashing onto white sand. Instinctively, Brilly knew that they were on Destiny Islands.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"It's beautiful here. I can see why there would be a princess hiding here. This would be my ideal hiding spot too!" The breeze flowed through her hair as she walked towards the shore. She took a deep breath of the ocean and closed her eyes. "Where do we start?" she asked, turning back to Horace.

"Well, it might be wise to know how big this world really is and maybe if there are any hangouts around." He stated.

They walked along the shore until they came up to a girl in an orange dress, holding a jump rope. "Excuse me, this may sound weird, but do you know anybody who is a princess?" Brilly asked, attempting to word the question right so she didn't sound like a complete idiot. The girl looked strangely at Brilly and asked, "Like playing a game?"

"No like a real life princess." Brilly said

"Oh nope. There are only a couple girls on the islands, well besides the old people like parents and teachers and stuff, but nobody is royalty. Ask Kairi. She's super smart; she might be able to help. Hey why do you have such funny clothes?"

"Umm, thank you for your help." Horace said, quickly walking and pushing Brilly away with him. "Brilly, the princesses may be princesses or they may be commoners, but they wouldn't know if they are Princesses of Heart." Horace stated, "Don't you think we need different clothes for the worlds? We don't want to draw attention."

"No, I don't think so. We won't be here for much longer. We might need rain coats though, it looks like there might be a storm coming." They continued walking, while Horace wordlessly conjured raincoats and set them on their shoulders.

As they turned the bend, they heard voices floating on the breeze. "You're sure you haven't seen one?" the voice sounded familiar, but Brilly was sure she had never heard it before. "No sorry, I have never even heard of a 'keyblade' before." A slightly younger voice was heard, with a hint of a whine in his voice. "Well thanks anyway." Brilly and Horace walked on and soon they saw a teen about Brilly's age with brown hair and a strange expression in his eyes. He walked right into her without even noticing her. "Watch where you're going!" he said, stopping to look at her, "oh sorry, I didn't realize you were a _girl_." He said with an angry glint in his deep blue eyes.

"What's that supposed to mean? I could kick your ass easily." She stood facing him, daring him to make a move. He stood looking at her, then sneered. "You're not worth it." He said walking away. Brilly stuck her foot and make him trip. "SCREW YOU!" he shouted, walking away after regaining his balance. "Not even in your dreams." She said under her breath, "C'mon Horace lets go." She started walking away then stopped when she realized Horace wasn't beside her. She looked back. "Brilly, did you see his clothes?" he asked in a sort of trance. "No, why?" "Because he's not from this world." He stated calmly, "plus he was asking around for a keyblade. He's from another world, I'm sure of it. Go catch up to him quick."

Sighing loudly, Brilly ran back the other way and caught up to the boy. "Hey! You're from another world, maybe you can help me. I'm looking for seven princesses of heart. Do you know where I might find them?" The boy gave her a puzzling look. "No, there's a Queen of Hearts in Wonderland, but I've never heard of 'princesses' of heart." His eyes widened. "Do you know where a can find a keyblade?"

"Well, I've seen one. The King had one, when we were fighting off the heartless. I don't know where he is though. I lost track of him when I left the castle. Sorry!" the boy ran off with a yell of "thanks" from over his shoulder. He jumped in a boat and rowed towards the horizon. There was a flash of light and he was gone. She walked back to Horace and continued walking with him up the island. "Do you think we'll find them in time?" she asked her voice full of doubt. "I'm sure we will. We just need to keep looking and not give up easily." They walked on, not speaking. BOOM! A clash of thunder and lightning startled them both. "Maybe we should go back…we'll start again after the storm."

"No. I think we should continue. I feel something in my heart tugging me towards that island. We have to go tonight. Look we'll take these boats and head over there." She ran towards the little boats and got in one. It started rowing towards the island. Horace jumped into another next to it and followed her.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

When they reached the other island, it started to rain. Thunder and lightning filled the sky with light and sound. "Where do we go now?" Horace shouted over the raging winds. "We gotta find some sort of cave, like a secret hiding place or something. There is someone waiting in there, I think it's a princess!" They started running all over the island, searching in every hole, cave, they even walked behind the waterfall. "We've looked everywhere. There's no one on this island except us!" Horace sat down and motioned Brilly to do the same. "Listen, I know the king said follow your heart, but sometimes your heart could be-"

Brilly got up and followed a small footpath up towards a bush behind a large tree. "Horace follow me!" she crawled in the bush and found herself in a cave, covered in childish drawings. Brilly looked up and saw a girl, around 14 looking at her. "Who are you?" Brilly asked, throwing caution on the wind. "I'm Kairi. Who are you?" She replied. "I'm Brilly and this is Horace." Brilly took a step towards Kairi. Suddenly heartless starting pouring out of a door in the back of the cave. "What are those?" Kairi exclaimed, taking a step back. She made towards the door but Horace grabbed her. "Kairi! We're not here to harm you. We need you for something important. Horace, is she a princess?" Brilly attacked a heartless and killed it. "Yea I think so." "Ok so what do we do now?!"

"I need to perform a spell to protect her." He replied. "Fine just hurry, I'll fend off the heartless as long as I can!" She turned her back and started fighting with heartless left and right. After 10 minutes, she heard Horace call her, sounding desperate. "Brilly! My magic isn't strong enough outside my world. You'll have to perform it."

"Why? I just saw you using magic earlier?" Brilly ran over and Horace got in front of her and Kairi to protect them. "That was small magic, this spell is incredibly powerful! Here i'll guide you through it. Put your hand over her heart and concentrate." Her hand started glowing a soft blue. "It's working! What do I do now?" Brilly looked at Kairi and saw her fear. She tried to comfort her with her expressions, but it didn't seem to work. "Now try to think of someplace to set her heart in, like a favorite object or something." "Ok I'll try. Kairi, what is your most favorite item in the whole world?" Kairi looked over Brilly's shoulder. In a daze, she answered, "Sora? Don't go!" Brilly turned around and saw a man, floating a few inches above the ground. She turned back around and focused on a 'Sora', even if she didn't know what it was. Her hand started to glow brighter. Suddenly, a giant wind knocked her and Horace out of the cave. Brilly blacked out as her body hit something hard and cold with a loud SMACK.


End file.
